January 20, 2016

Review: The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton



Product Description:
The gripping, moving story of a mother and daughter's quest to uncover a dark secret in the Alaskan wilderness, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards.

Thrillingly suspenseful and atmospheric, The Quality of Silence is the story of Yasmin, a beautiful astrophysicist, and her precocious deaf daughter, Ruby, who arrive in a remote part of Alaska to be told that Ruby's father, Matt, has been the victim of a catastrophic accident. Unable to accept his death as truth, Yasmin and Ruby set out into the hostile winter of the Alaskan tundra in search of answers. But as a storm closes in, Yasmin realizes that a very human danger may be keeping pace with them. And with no one else on the road to help, they must keep moving, alone and terrified, through an endless Alaskan night.


My Thoughts:
Instead of a satisfying suspense thriller, I found myself aggravated by The Quality of Silence. It's really not believable that Yasmin would drag Ruby through all the horrors they faced because her husband kissed another woman and she didn't want to face the fact that her may now be dead. Really? You're going to "borrow" an extra large rig that is fully loaded and trek down one of the most dangerous roads ever, with a bad guy on your heels? Nope, I don't believe it. Although I finished the book, I found myself skimming through most of the 2nd half and found the ending so disappointing it was almost rage inducing. 

My Recommendation:
Pass on this one.

January 19, 2016

Review: Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon



Product Description:
Alex Dale is lost. Destructive habits have cost her a marriage and a journalism career. All she has left is her routine: a morning run until her body aches, then a few hours of forgettable work before the past grabs hold and drags her down. Every day is treading water, every night is drowning. Until Alex discovers Amy Stevenson. Amy Stevenson, who was just another girl from a nearby town until the day she was found unconscious after a merciless assault. Amy Stevenson, who has been in a coma for fifteen years, forgotten by the world. Amy Stevenson, who, unbeknownst to her doctors, remains locked inside her body, conscious but paralyzed, reliving the past.
 
Soon Alex’s routine includes visiting hours at the hospital, then interviews with the original suspects in the attack. But what starts as a reporter’s story becomes a personal obsession. How do you solve a crime when the only witness lived but cannot tell the tale? Unable to tear herself away from her attempt to uncover the unspeakable truth, Alex realizes she’s not just chasing a story—she’s seeking salvation.
 
Shifting from present to past and back again, Try Not to Breathe unfolds layer by layer until its heart-stopping conclusion. The result is an utterly immersive, unforgettable debut.


My Thoughts:
Wow, Try Not to Breathe really pulled on my heart strings. What a sad, sad character Alex was. I felt so much empathy for her and was genuinely invested in how everything would turn out, hoping for a happy ending. She had a great life until her alcoholism ruined everything then she struggled to pick up the pieces and somehow get through her tragic days. 

Then you have Amy. Her young life cut short, trapped in a coma for 15 years yet she still has some semblance of consciousness leaving her internally and forever bewildered. Sob!

Although nothing about the story ends in a happily ever after, both Alex and Amy make major strides in improving their lives. 

My Recommendation:
I recommend this one for anyone who loves a suspense thriller full of emotion. 


January 3, 2016

Review: The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield




Product Description:
Welcome to Quinn, Montana, population: 956. A town where nearly all of the volunteer firemen are named Jim, where The Dirty Shame—the only bar in town—refuses to serve mixed drinks (too much work), where the locals hate the newcomers (then again, they hate the locals, too), and where the town softball team has never even come close to having a winning season. Until now.

Rachel Flood has snuck back into town after leaving behind a trail of chaos nine years prior. She’s here to make amends, but nobody wants to hear it, especially her mother, Laverna. But with the help of a local boy named Jake and a little soul-searching, she just might make things right.

In the spirit of Empire Falls and A League of Their Own, with the caustic wit of Where’d You Go, Bernadette thrown in for good measure, Richard Fifield’s hilarious and heartwarming debut will have you laughing through tears.


My Thoughts:
I really didn't start liking this book until about halfway in. If I hadn't committed to an honest review, I may not have even finished the book but thankfully I did because at the end of it all, The Flood Girls was a fantastic book. 

What made me not like it initially was how over the top the characters were. I honestly couldn't believe anyone acted this way in real life and didn't feel attachments to any of the main characters. But little by little they started to grow on me (with the exception of the silver miners...them bitches be crazy!) and bit by bit I got suckered into caring about what happened.  

The book wrapped up with a shocking ending but it fit the storyline so in the end I didn't mind so much. 

Recommendation:
I recommend this one for anyone who loves over the top characters in small town settings. 

Books I Didn't Finish in 2016

Updated September 17, 2016

Below will be any books I started and didn't finish and the reason why.

August 2016,   Playing with Fire by Derek Landy. I absolutely loved the first book in this series but I guess I waited too long in between the two. This one just didn't hold my interest and I quickly decided to pass on it. 

September 2016, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. I just couldn't get into the book flipping back and forth between the different lives of  Ursula. Put it down less than a third of the way in which disappointed me because I heard this was a great book.







Top 5 Books I've Read in 2016

Updated January 3, 2016
  1. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
  2. Closer Home by Kerry Anne King
  3. The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
  4. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
  5.  The Silent Sister by Diane Chamerlain
2015 Top 5
2014 Top 5


Books I've Read in 2016

Books
January

  1. The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield
  2. Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
  3. The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton
February
  1. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
  2. The Exorcist Who Loved Me by Jennifer Savalli
March
  1. Nomad by Matthew Mather
  2. The Map of Bones by Francesca Haig
  3. Dead Girl's Don't Dance by MaryJanice Davidson
April
  1. Foundation by Ann Aguirre
  2. Closer Home by Kerry Anne King
  3. The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone
May
  1. Rescue From Planet Pleasure by Mario Acevedo
June
  1. The Time Traveler's Boyfriend by Annabelle Costa
  2. Indiana Belle by John A. Heldt
  3. A Good-Looking Corpse by Jeff Klima
  4. The House of Secrets by Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg
July
  1. Two for the Show by Jonathan Stone
August
  1. Outside the Lines by Sheila Lowe
  2. The Chocolate Frog Frame Up by Joanna Carl
September
  1. Resonance by A.J. Scudiere
October
  1. Class of '59 by John A. Heldt
  2. Unwanted by Jennifer Estep
November
  1. When by Victoria Laurie
Audiobooks
January

  1. The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith
  2. Fairest by Marissa Meyer
  3. X by Sue Grafton
  4. The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
  5. Winter by Marissa Meyer
  6. The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
February

  1. White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland
  2. Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep
  3. Devoted in Death by J. D. Robb
  4. No Ghouls Allowed by Victoria Laurie
  5. The Target by David Baldacci
March
  1. Time Flies by Claire Cook
  2. Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
  3. Wonderment in Death by J.D. Robb
  4. Trouble in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon
  5. Bitter Bite by Jennifer Estep
  6. Road Kill by Kevin J. Anderson
  7. Kiss and Spell by Shanna Swendson
  8. To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn
  9. Undead and Underwater by MaryJanice Davidson
April
  1. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun
  2. Iced by Karen Marie Moning
  3. Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep
  4. Unintended Consequences by Stuart Woods
May
  1. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
  2. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
  3. The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
  4. The Helena Diaries by Jana DeLeon
  5. Brotherhood in Death by JD Robb
June
  1. The Guilty by David Baldacci
  2. Armada by Ernest Cline
  3. Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep
  4. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
  5. The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister
  6. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
July
  1. The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
  2. The Widow by Fiona Barton
  3. Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace
  4. The Fat Man by Ken Harmon
  5. Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
August
  1. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
  2. Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver
  3. Doing Hard Time by Stewart Woods
  4. Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep
  5. End of Watch by Stephen King
  6. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadry
  7. All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
  8. Deja Demon by Julie Kenner
September
  1. Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey
  2. Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy
  3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
  4. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
  5. Accidentally Catty by Dakota Cassidy
  6. The 14th Colony by Steve Berry
  7. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
October
  1. Stand Up Guy by Stuart Woods
  2. Undead and Unsure by MaryJanice Davidson
  3. Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb
  4. Home by Harlen Coben
  5. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
November
  1. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  2. A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder by Victoria Laurie
  3. Found by Harlan Coben
  4. Unraveled by Jennifer Estep
  5. Carnal Curiosity by Stuart Woods
  6. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich
December
  1. Burned by Karen Marie Moning
  2. No Man's Land by David Baldacci
  3. Cut and Thrust by Stuart Woods
  4. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
  5. The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly
  6. The Last Mile by David Baldacci
Grand Total: 95

Here's what I read in previous years:
    2015
    2014
    2013
    2012
    2011
    2010
    2009
    2008